Saturday events to raise money for special causes

By Doug BoydECU News Services

Sebastian DeMarco and other runners sprint from the starting line at last year's Hamstring Hustle. Photos by Cliff Hollis

GREENVILLE, N.C.
(Apr. 2, 2013)
—
East Carolina University students will be raising money for health-related causes in three events Saturday.

In the morning, runners and walkers may choose between a pair of 5K races: the 19th annual Hamstring Hustle and the inaugural Pirate Nurse 5K.

The Hamstring Hustle starts at 9 a.m. beside Moe's Southwestern Grill on Red Banks Road. The race will wind through the Lynndale neighborhood and is a USA Track and Field-certified course/sanctioned event.

The race is presented by the Medical Student Council at the Brody School of Medicine. A portion of the proceeds from the race will benefit the ECU Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Registration is $20 through Thursday and $25 afterward and is available online at http://www.hamstringhustle.com. Race day registration is also available.

Participants should be at the race site no later than 8:15 a.m. the day of the race.

Awards will be presented to the overall male and female winners and to the top three males and females in the following age groups: 12 and under, 13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 and over.

E-mail race organizers at hamstringhustle@gmail.com for more information.

The Pirate Nurse 5K also begins at 9 a.m. at the ECU Health Sciences Building at 2100 W. Fifth St. and covers a course on the health sciences campus.

Entrants receive a T-shirt, gift bag and electronic chip timing by Run the East.

All proceeds will support the Linda Pynn Nurse Practitioner Scholarship and the May BSN Senior Class Gift. Registration is $10 for ECU students and $20 for the general public and is available online at http://www.runtheeast.com.

Awards will be given to the top two males and females in the following age groups: 12 and under, 13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70 and over.

Then at 2 p.m. Saturday, medical students will be hosting an opportunity for people to get a haircut or their heads shaved for a good cause.

Third-year medical students, led by Philip Leisy, are hosting a St. Baldrick's head-shaving event in the auditorium of the Brody Medical Sciences Building. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation raises money and shows support for pediatric cancer research by inviting volunteers around the country to shave their heads, among other fundraising projects.

Those who don't want to get shaved but have hair to spare may donate 8 inches of their locks to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to make wigs for cancer patients.

The students hope to raise $5,000 locally. As of Tuesday, they had raised $2,115.

More information about the event is online at http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/ecu or by contacting Lindsey Fix at 252-561-5558 or Lindsey.Fix@gmail.com. Donations also may be made at the St. Baldrick’s website.

Philip Leisy gets his head shaved during last year's fundraiser for the St. Baldrick's Foundation at the Brody Medical Sciences Building.